Double Trouble
by Liris
Summary: Holly and Artemis get kidnapped by Opal and Opal. Chaos ensues. H/A ship, set after TTP. Contains spoilers. Rated for violence.
1. Chapter 1

I own nothing, not the characters, not the settings, not even the computer I'm typing on. Well, ok, I own the plot - which may go a little odd in places, but bear with me. This came to me in a daydream in the middle of a maths lesson, so it's not foolproof by any means.

Where was I? Oh, right, disclaimer. All the good stuff belongs to Mr Colfer, and any errors in judgement or character are mine entirely.

Btw, this is my first fanfic, so pls, constructive criticism appreciated!

********************************************************

Central Haven was in chaos. The civilians who had, moments before, been shopping peacefully were now huddling behind anything large enough to conceal them, terrified. Three sprites with lasers were shooting anything in sight, the beam on their illegal neutrino's refined to kill, rather than just incapacitate. There was already a pixie lying on the floor, unmoving. Holly Short sincerely hoped he was just stunned, not dead.

She was hiding behind a sandwich board outside an eatery, unarmed and as helpless as the civilians surrounding her. Today was her first day off in a month, and she had hoped to do some food shopping. Mulch had popped round to her apartment the previous night to discuss a case (he and Doodah Day ran a Private Investigators Service), and as a consequence her kitchen cupboards were now completely devoid of anything except a three year old hunk of cheese, which even Mulch had refused to eat. 'I should probably throw that out' she thought as a hunk of masonry from the clothing store whistled through the air, millimetres from her head.

She ducked, gritting her teeth. If she was on duty, she'd have had these imbeciles locked up before you could say 'Atlantis'. Then again, if she was on duty, she'd have had a gun of her own, and she wouldn't be hiding.

"D'Arvit" she muttered. She may not be particularly cautious, but neither was she suicidal, and those lasers had already punched holes in solid concrete. Her t-shirt and jacket would be no match for them. Much as she hated to admit it, she was out of her depth.

One of the sprites shot a chunk off the corner of the eatery she was kneeling in front of , and she was forced to roll out from behind the sandwich board to avoid being crushed. Immediately Neutrino charges sank into the ground around her, but luckily the sprites were bad shots, and she was able to get to her feet and sprint for the entrance of the clothes shop. The inhabitants opened the door to allow her access, slamming it shut after she made it inside. Neutrino bursts assailed it, but it held. Barely.

"Reinforced it after that incident with the B'Wa Kell. Should hold a couple more rounds." proclaimed the shop owner. Nobody else cared why it was holding, just as long as it was. Holly cared least of all - she had bigger problems, like the fact that one of the shots had clipped her leg. Blood soaked through the material of her trousers, through her fingers as she shot healing sparks into the wound, and dripped onto the floor. It had been a while since she'd completed the Ritual, and the few sparks she could produce were barely enough to dull the pain. The room spun as she hobbled to the nearest wall and propped herself against it.

"D'Arvit." she swore again, sliding to the floor.

*********************************************

Commander Trouble Kelp was slouching at his desk, buried in paperwork, when the call came through that three sprites were creating havoc in the city centre. He sat bolt upright, alert at once. One of the techies sent a live feed to his office from a surveillance camera anchored to the outside of the main Haven Bank. There were civilians crouched behind - and inside - anything that could provide cover. His experienced eyes roamed the scene, taking everything in as quickly as possible. Something, or rather someone, in the top left hand corner caught his eye.

"Can you enlarge section C4?" he asked the technician. The screen contracted and the section in question filled the screen. Trouble swore loudly and thumped the intercom button on his desk. His voice thundered throughout all of Police Plaza.

"I want every officer available to get down to the city centre now! There are sprites shooting up the place!"

He grabbed the biggest gun he could find in his office, then joined the herd of officers heading for the city centre. Holly was in danger.

***********************************************************

It was with great relief that the civilians in the city centre greeted their armed saviours. Within seconds, the three sprites were unconscious, tagged and on their way to Police Plaza, and all officers were taking statements or aiding the wounded. All except one. Commander Kelp was staring round for his missing officer. The spot where Holly had been was covered with a large pile of rubble, but his helmet scan said that there was no one under it, living or otherwise. He sighed in relief when he spotted the inhabitants of the clothes shop emerging warily. She must be in there.

She was slumped against a wall, pale but breathing. He hurried to her side, elbowed an unhelpful elf out of his way and saw the big hole in her leg. He laid his hand over hers and breathed 'heal'. Blue sparks erupted from his fingertips and the wound disappeared. Holly smiled weakly at him.

"Thanks."

He unsealed his helmet and rubbed the tips of his ears. This job was so stressful. He helped Holly to her feet. She swayed a little, but stood on her own.

"Are you ok?"

She nodded. "I will be. Thank you, Commander."

He put a hand on her shoulder, prompting two teenage girls to point and titter. He shot them a look and they scurried out of the store.

"You go topside tonight, Captain, and complete the Ritual. Take tomorrow off, we'll see you after the weekend. Got it?"

Holly frowned. "Won't you need me to help clear this lot up, sir?"

"You're involved Holly, so no. Take the weekend off, relax, and report to me first thing as soon as you get back. Ok? Now, go complete the Ritual."

Trouble put his helmet back on and walked out. Holly watched him go, then straightened and left herself. She gave her statement to a junior officer and returned home to change into the LEP uniform. She'd need it to get clearance to fly, and besides, it made her feel better. This outfit, at least, had a _little_ resistance to laser bursts. She didn't think she'd ever take it off again.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Artemis Fowl was staring into space. There wasn't much unusual in that, he found very little that happened around the manor to be of much interest to him, especially now that his parents had taken the twins to America to see Juliet a.k.a. the Jade Princess, wrestling superstar. But the look on his face was abstract, even for him.

Butler, observing his young master from the doorway thought he knew what the boy was daydreaming about. Or, more accurately, who. Just the previous night, he had been walking past Artemis's room when he'd heard the boy call out the name of a certain female LEP officer. When he'd checked, Artemis had been asleep, with a goofy smile on his normally composed face.

Butler chuckled at the memory. The sound roused Artemis from his trance, and he looked around, suddenly disoriented.

"Butler? Is something the matter?"

"No, sir."

"Then why are you watching me like that? Surely, I cannot be _that_ interesting."

Butler decided to face the issue head-on.

"Have you spoken to Holly recently?"

Well, almost head-on.

Artemis blushed a little, before composing himself and responding as normally as he could. "No, why?"

"No reason. I just haven't seen her in a long time, and I never got around to thanking her for saving you again."

Artemis nodded, not quite believing his manservant, but not wanting to push the issue either. It was entirely too personal, and far too close to what he had just been thinking about. Butler sighed, and gave up on subtlety.

"Perhaps you should call her? You must miss her, a little."

"I do not _miss her_, Butler. Whatever makes you think such a thing?"

Butler smirked, and left Artemis to his self-delusion. The boy watched him go, then turned to his computer. He beat the machine at chess three times in quick sucession, then sighed and closed down the programme.

_I do want to see her again_, he thought. _Of course I do._

He opened his email account and began to type.

********************************************

Holly straightened, feeling the rush as her magic was replenished. The blue glow around her faded, and she grinned. Gods, she loved that feeling - there was nothing like running hot after running on empty. She jumped off the small cliff she was on and plummeted towards the still waters below. She engaged her wings at the last minute, gliding out over the serene Irish sea. She had grabbed the first flare to Tara, and completed the Ritual at the usual spot, the place that evoked the most memories in her. Some good, some bad. All involving Artemis. She grinned, stopping in midair so suddenly that she fell a few feet before the wings adjusted to the hover setting. Speak of the devil. The Irish Mud Boy was emailing her. It was labelled social, but read simply 'Important'. She frowned. If it was important, why wasn't it under the emergency labelling? How important was it?

She shrugged, and set off for Fowl Manor. She had the next twenty-four hours off anyway, she may as well spend them above ground. It had been a while since she'd seen Artemis. She flushed as she remembered their last encounter. They'd both almost died, Opal Koboi had escaped from the past into the present, and she'd kissed him! It was the last item on her mental list that shocked her the most. She almost died every time she got into an adventure with Artemis, and it was almost a given that Opal would complicate their lives again at some point in the future (though security around her cell in Atlantis had been trebled, just in case). But she had kissed the Mud Boy! True, she had been a teenager at that point, but she didn't think it had just been hormones. Could it be that she actually had feelings for him?

Holly shook herself. _Get a grip, girl. You don't have to worry about this_.

For the rest of the flight, she gave the scenery her complete attention.

****************************************************

Artemis glanced at the clock. Midnight. He should probably go to bed. After all, he couldn't expect Holly to respond to the email straight away, especially as it was only a social call. Perhaps he shouldn't have sent it, or perhaps he should have worded it differently. After all, 'important' may give her the wrong impression. He just wanted to talk to her, after all, it wasn't that urgent…

He was jolted out of his reverie by a knock at the window. Holly was outside, waving at him to let her in. For a few seconds he just stared - he had only sent the email half an hour ago - then he came to his senses and opened the window for her. She must have been completing the Ritual. She smiled and hugged him, and he reciprocated, muttering into her ear.

"Haven't you ever heard of using the front door?"

She pulled back and punched his shoulder gently.

"Where's the fun in that?"

Artemis shook his head, smiling and rubbing his shoulder. She looked at him, head tilted to one side.

"What was so urgent?"

His smile slipped.

"Oh, well, I just wanted to see you, that's all. It's been a while, and you said yourself that we never get to 'hang out'. Why, did I call at a bad time?"

"No, actually your timing was perfect. I've got a free weekend, so I'm all yours for a few hours."

"Not strictly true." came a whinny from the direction of the computer. Both Holly and Artemis whirled to face the centaur on the screen. Foaly grinned at them.

"You didn't even notice me, did you?"

"Did we notice a computer programme opening silently on a screen not in our line of sight? No Foaly, quite astonishingly, we didn't." Artemis replied dryly. He followed it up with "How did you hack my system?"

The centaur shrugged. "Everyone needs a hobby."

Holly interceded before either genius could damage the others ego too much.

"Did you interrupt for a reason, Foaly?"

The centaur sobered up at once.

"Yes, actually. Earlier, whist you were being shot at, Opal broke herself out of prison."

Holly swore loudly. "It was a distraction."

Foaly nodded. "And it worked. Commander Kelp wants you back below ground Holly, now if not sooner. And he also asked for you, Fowl. He said, and I'm quoting here, 'We'll need the Mud Genius to combat the both of them, or were sunk.' Not to inflate your ego, or anything."

"Most persuasive, Foaly." Artemis muttered, but he stored the compliment away for future use. "I presume you want Butler's aid on this also?"

Holly grinned. "When don't we need him?"

"Bring the two of them down Holly, but be careful. We don't know where the Opal's are, and they'll be after the two of you for sure."

Holly nodded, and Foaly closed the link. The elf turned to Artemis.

"Where is Butler?"

"He'll probably be in the dojo."

The pair headed for the door, but it crashed open before they could reach it. Holly reached for the neutrino that she knew wouldn't be there, swore, and dived into Artemis, knocking him to the ground. Unfortunately, this meant that she took the first blast of the enemy's gun. The shot hit her in the chest, spinning her round, and she collapsed across Artemis's legs. Pinned to the ground by Holly's unconscious form, all he could do was watch as two females entered his office. Opal of the present, with her rounded ears, was more than a foot taller than her counterpart from the past, but both had identical evil grins on their faces.

"You were right," exclaimed past Opal, "This is fun!"

Artemis groaned as the next shot from her stolen neutrino hit him. He felt distantly the weight move off his legs, but he didn't have the energy to move. His own shoulders lifted off the ground, he heard muttering - 'he's still awake!' - then a swift punch from one of the Opal's sent him tumbling into blackness.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Butler's workout was interrupted by his mobile phone ringing. He dropped the weights he was using and pulled the contraption from his trouser pocket.

"Hello?"

"Hey, bro." came Juliet's carefree tone. Butler smiled. He hadn't seen his little sister in almost six months and, stupid and pointless as it was, he worried about her.

"Hi, Juliet. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Surrounded by monosyllabic morons, but what can you do?"

Butler chuckled. "You chose to go on a wrestling tour, sis. No one forced you."

"Huh. I'd like to see them try. Anyway, is Artemis with you? Mrs Fowl's getting worried, he's not answering his phone."

Butler frowned.

"He should be upstairs. Maybe he's asleep. I'll go and check, then ring you back."

"Ok, bro. Talk to you soon."

Butler hung up and took off out of the dojo and up the stairs. He wasn't too worried, after all it _was_ nearly one in the morning. He should probably be getting to sleep himself.

The door to Artemis's room was wide open, and there was broken glass on the floor. It looked like one of the windows had shattered. Artemis himself was nowhere to be seen.

Butler jogged to the surveillance room and rewound the tapes. What he saw made him groan. There wasn't a camera in Artemis's room itself, but the one in the corridor outside showed the two Opals quite clearly. Artemis was in trouble. Again. Butler froze the tape as the pixies reappeared, each dragging an unconscious form behind them. _At least Holly's with him _he thought.

******************************************************

Artemis stirred groggily. His arms were pulled behind him uncomfortably and tied together at the wrists. He appeared to be tethered to a wooden chair. He lifted his head and looked around. Holly was tied to an identical chair a few feet to his left, her head lolling onto her chest. He called her name, but she didn't respond.

"She can't hear you, Mud Boy."

The voice came over some sort of speaker system, as the small room they were locked in was empty but for the two of them. He addressed the room in general, unsure where the microphone was.

"What have you done to her, Opal? Why kidnap us _again_? Didn't you learn your lesson from the last few times? You can't beat us. Now, let us go. Maybe the Council will go easy on you."

The pixies harsh laugh came through metallic over the speakers. They were in a shuttle, that much was obvious from the metal curvature of one wall, and it must be an old one to have faults with the intercom. Foaly's new technology sounded as if the person was in the room with you.

"Oh, no Fowl. You and miss Short are going nowhere. Besides, why would the Council show me any leniency? I tried to kill them all, remember?"

"Yes," interceded the other Opal. "She tried, and when I go back I will succeed. I know now not to trust Briar, so I will rule all!" She giggled.

"It wasn't just Briar that stopped you, though. Julius, Foaly, Holly and me helped too."

"Not the smartest thing to do, Mudman. Remind me that I should be killing you."

"You're going to anyway. Or I should say, you're going to try. I have no doubt that you'll fail, just like every other time."

"Oh, no, Fowl. This time I will win. _We_ will win. Because we know your weakness."

"Oh? And what would that be?" Artemis tried to put forward an act of bravado, but inside he was worried. What were they planning to use against him? If they touched his family…

"Holly Short." Opal tittered. "We are going to use her to control you."

Artemis's stomach churned.

"I'd like to see you try. When she wakes up, you two aren't going to know what's hit you."

"Ah, but that's the beauty of it. She won't wake up."

"She's quite heavily sedated, and will remain that way until you've agreed to help us. The longer you refuse, the more damage gets done to the captain's system. The sedative isn't exactly _stable_, if you get my meaning."

Artemis's eyes widened in panic. They were hurting Holly…

"What do you want me to do?" he shouted, anger coursing through his veins. The Opals just laughed.

"Not so fast. We'll reveal all when we get there. In the meantime, you just think about the consequences of turning us down. Holly Short's life is in your hands, Fowl. Be careful with it."

************************************************

Butler ran towards his room. He was going to grab as much weaponry as he could fit on his person, drive to the fairy fort in Tara and demand to speak to the Commander.

As he passed Artemis's room, a strange ringing sound emerged. Butler stuck his head around the door and saw Artemis's ring lying on the floor. The ring that was actually a communicator. He picked it up and answered it.

"Butler? Where's Artemis?"

"Foaly?"

"The one and only. Where are you? You were all supposed to be at Tara half an hour ago, and Holly isn't answering. Her helmet must be offline."

"Actually, Foaly, her helmet's by my left foot. And I'm still at the Manor, but Artemis and Holly aren't here. Opal broke in, both of her, and abducted them."

Foaly swore loudly and creatively. Butler jogged back towards his room and shoved his Sig Sauer into his shoulder holster.

"I'm on my way, Foaly. I'll be at Tara in fifteen minutes."

"How many speed limits are you planning to break to get there that fast?" Foaly wondered.

"All of them. Artemis and Holly are in trouble, there's no time to waste."

With that, Butler pocketed the ring and ran out to the garage. Within seconds, the Bentley was roaring out of the Manor.

****************************************************

Artemis tugged at the restraints around his wrists. They didn't appear to be tied to the chair, and were loose enough to let him stand without contortion. It appeared that the two Opals wanted him to be able to go over to Holly, to show his affection for her. To confirm their suspicions.

He knelt down and stepped backwards over the ties around his wrists. He may still be hindered by the restraints, but at least he could actually use his hands now. He untied Holly, who slumped forwards and fell to the floor. He knelt beside her, patting her cheek and shaking her gently. There was no response, but then he hadn't really expected one. She was out for the count, drugged by one of the Opals. He no longer cared which was which, he just wanted to take them both down and get Holly to safety.

He shivered. The room was freezing. Holly skin was cold to the touch. He curled himself around her, trying to keep her warm. He wasn't sure if it helped much or not, but it was all he could think of to do. It was no good being a genius if all you had was yourself. He was the planner, not the doer, but now it looked like he'd have to be both. He hoped he could do it. If he couldn't, the he and Holly wouldn't be getting out of this alive.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Artemis jolted awake as the shuttle rocked to a stop. Holly was still unconscious, and she was looking incredibly pale. She did feel a little warmer, though whether that was because he was now freezing too he wasn't sure. He knelt up in front of Holly facing the door. He couldn't let the Opals hurt her.

Right on cue, the door opened and the two pixies walked in to the room. They took in his protective pose, and began to giggle. _They may not look the same _thought Artemis, _but they have identically irritating laughs_.

"Have you thought any more about our offer, Mudman?" asked past Opal.

"It wasn't an offer so much as an ultimatum." he said coldly. The pixies giggled again.

"So you'll help us?"

"You leave me precious little choice." His tone could have frozen the pacific ocean. "Now, wake her up."

Past Opal walked forwards with a needle in her hand, but Present Opal put her arm out to stop her.

"No, wait. You don't know Fowl like I do. How do we know we can trust you?"

Artemis laughed humourlessly. "You're holding the life of one of my closest friends over my head. What do you think I'm going to do to betray you?"

Present Opal dropped her arm, and her younger counterpart injected the clear hypodermic into Holly's neck. After a couple of seconds, the elf stirred and coughed. Artemis let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. Holly was going to be alright.

Past Opal gestured to the recovering elf on the floor.

"Well, Mudman, are you going to carry her? Or are you just going to leave her there?"

Artemis swore under his breath, but lifted the captain and held her in his arms. She wasn't heavy as such, but she was a deadweight, and the only form of exercise Artemis had done over the past few months had been horse riding and running for his life. Neither of these activities built up his biceps much, so he was struggling to hold Holly's weight. _I won't drop her _he thought furiously. _At least, not in front of Opal._

The Opals made him walk between them down a series of corridors roughly hewn from rock. They were underground somewhere, though where Artemis had no clue. It had to be somewhere the Opals felt secure, somewhere safe from detection…

They entered a dust covered corridor, and suddenly Artemis knew where they were.

"This is Koboi Labs!"

"Well done, Fowl. I'd be more impressed if you didn't have an IQ that nearly rivalled mine." Present Opal replied bitterly. Why she was bitter was anyone's guess, maybe there was some dissent between the elder and younger Opals. Artemis hoped so - it would make it much easier for him and Holly to escape.

Past Opal strutted down a corridor that looked even less used than the rest of the building. Artemis's arms were burning - he had to put Holly down soon. Thankfully, Past Opal opened a door and told him to enter. It was a prison room, complete with metal bed frame and pitifully thin mattress. He waited for Opal to slam the door behind him, then lowered Holly onto the bed, moaning. His arms _burned_.

Holly moaned and opened her eyes groggily.

"Arty?"

Artemis's stomach gave a lurch. She hadn't called him that since they'd travelled back on time together and she'd been changed into a teenager. Was she actually talking to him, or was she rambling?

Opal's voice over the intercom broke his train of thought.

"We've upheld our part of the bargain, Mudman. It's time for you to do your part."

"You haven't told me what you actually want me to do."

"Simple." came the reply. "You are going to destroy Haven for us."

********************************************************

Butler parked the Bentley under a tree and strode into the fairy fort. Several fairies had been complaining about the lack of a shuttle back to Haven (Trouble had reserved the only shuttle for him and Butler to go underground, and there was a backlog back at Haven, so no fresh shuttles had made their way up E1 in a couple of hours), but they suddenly decided they had bigger worries, and ran for the passenger lounge to get out of the giant Eurasian's way.

Within a relatively short amount of time, only Butler and Trouble Kelp were left in the room. Butler knelt down and held out a hand to Kelp, who shook it gingerly. The giant Mudman was supposed to be a friend, but that didn't make him any less intimidating.

"Butler."

"Commander. Shall we?"

The two didn't speak again until they were in the shuttle and descending towards Haven. Butler was pleasantly surprised - when Holly wasn't flying it, the shuttle could actually move quite slowly and without acrobatics. Trouble set the autopilot and turned to Butler.

"So what happened back at Fowl Manor?"

Butler told him about both Opals turning up and the kidnapping. He slapped the dash, gritting his teeth.

"I send her topside to get her out of danger…" he muttered. Butler got the impression that he wasn't supposed to have heard that comment, so changed the topic.

"How did Opal escape?"

"Huh? Opal broke her out."

Butler could tell this tale was going to get confusing.

"She went in when the guards were changing over, and when they realised what was going on and tried to call for reinforcements, all the officers were in Haven, trying to clear up the mess those three sprites made. So, now we have twelve men all off with various injuries - it was a miracle none of them were killed - and to top it all off Opal and Opal have Holly. And Artemis."

Something told Butler that Artemis wasn't Trouble's top priority, but he could hardly hold that against the elf. Holly was his officer, after all.

************************************************

"What?" Artemis couldn't believe it. "You want me to take down Haven? Are you still on about that? It didn't work with the B'Wa Kell uprising, it didn't work with the Zito Probe, what makes you think it's going to work now?"

"Are you refusing to help us, Fowl?"

Artemis had a sudden vision of lightning bolts flying past his head as he rode a quagga out of a secret lab, and shuddered.

"No, I'm merely pointing out flaws in your plan."

When Opal spoke again, he could hear the glee in her words.

"This plan has no flaws. This plan has a bio-bomb."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Butler was kneeling down in the conference room, facing Trouble, Foaly and a Council representative. Trouble was wincing as his superior yelled at him.

"What in Frond's name were you thinking? Bringing that Mudman down here? You didn't clear this with the Council, and this isn't the first time that you've failed to notify us of your intentions! Last time, Holly Short went back in time to save a Mudman's mother, without our say-so! If you continue like this, Kelp, you will be removed from office!"

Kelp bristled.

"Captain Short did that without my knowledge, but it's thanks to her that we now have back-up supplies of the Spelltropy vaccine! And she saved a species from extinction."

"And that same Captain is responsible for these current events! If she hadn't gone back then Opal wouldn't be lose in the city right now, either of them! This entire situation is her fault!"

"Actually, it's Artemis's fault." interrupted Foaly. "He blackmailed her into helping him."

The Councilman looked ready to explode.

"Then it shows she's corruptible! What was he blackmailing her with, anyway?"

"Her mother's death, and her being responsible if his mother died. She wasn't, Fowl lied to her, but she didn't know that at the time." Foaly sounded annoyed, though Butler wasn't sure whether that was due to Artemis lying to Holly or the Council scapegoating her. Either way, none of this was helping Artemis. He coughed into his fist. All activity ceased at once.

"Do you have any way of tracing either Artemis or Holly? That way we could let the good Captain present her side of the story in person. After we rescue her and Artemis from the Opals, of course."

Foaly whinnied for attention. This was his area.

"Holly's helmet is still at Fowl Manor, so that's no use. Her suit is either inactive or damaged, and the only method we have of locating Artemis is sitting in your pocket, Butler."

Butler pulled out the communicator and Foaly nodded.

"Well, that's a lot of good." commented the council representative sarcastically.

"Actually, it is. I installed DNA scopes in all major chutes, so if I can get a sample of Fowl's DNA, we could see if he's come underground recently. Give me a minute."

The centaur walked out towards the Ops Booth, scrutinising the ring in his hands. Trouble looked at Butler.

"Any plans, Butler?"

"Find Artemis and Holly. Rescue them if they need it. Stop Opal."

Trouble rolled his eyes.

"Artemis's scheming obviously hasn't rubbed off on you."

**************************************************************

"A bio bomb? What's that got to do with me?" _Surely that couldn't be the extent of the plan _thought Artemis. _They could arm that without my help_.

"Everything, Fowl. Everything."

There was a click as Opal turned the intercom off. Obviously, he wasn't expected to do anything right now. He turned to Holly, to see her propped up on her elbows, looking at him oddly.

"Holly? Are you alright?"

"What in Haven's name was that all about? A bio bomb? Explain, Artemis."

So much for Arty.

"They want me to do something for them. Something involving said bio bomb."

"Who's they? And why would you _ever_ agree?"

"Opal and Opal. Remember, she broke herself out of prison?" he prompted at her blank look. She recalled Foaly's warning and groaned, dropping back onto the bed.

"Fantastic." she muttered, eyes closed. "As if one megalomaniacal pixie wasn't enough, now there are two of her. And they have a bio bomb."

She walked over to the door and pushed against it. It didn't move, but then she hadn't really expected Opal to be so lax. She turned and pierced Artemis with her gaze.

"And just _why_ are you helping them?"

"They, err, they made me an offer I couldn't refuse." he said, wincing internally. It sounded like a line from a bad mafia movie, but he couldn't think of what else to tell her. 'They threatened to hurt you if I didn't help them, and I couldn't bear the thought of them harming you' was the most accurate - and most honest - answer, but it revealed far too much of his emotional attachment to the pretty captain. He knew she liked him, but he was relatively certain that her feelings were only of friendship. True, she had kissed him, but she had been running on adrenaline and hormones at the time, and had told him herself that 'his elf-kissing days were over'. He wasn't going to embarrass both of them by proclaiming just how he felt.

Holly narrowed her eyes at his weak explanation.

"Are you hiding something, Mud Boy?"

He was saved answering by the intercom blaring Opal's voice into the room. It was probably the only time he had ever been glad to hear the pixies voice.

"We're watching you two. No trying to escape, Captain Short, or we'll have to knock you out for a while. The small scar on your left lower arm?"

Holly rolled her sleeve up. Sure enough, there was a small mark just below the elbow.

"That's where we inserted the seeker-sleeper. Ironic, no?"

The pixies giggles were cut off as she closed the connection. Holly looked furious.

"As soon as I get the chance, I'm going to punch that fairy right in her smug face. Both of them."

**************************************************

Past Opal tittered as she leaned away from the microphone. Taunting her enemies was sooooo fun. She looked to her left, where her older self was examining her rounded ears in a pocket mirror.

_I really am beautiful _she thought. _Even as a human_.

Her older self put the compact away and swivelled in her chair.

"Well, phase one went well. Let's hope the next part works just as well."

"Of course it will. Fowl is so worried about what we could do to Short, he'll do whatever we ask him to as long as we don't hurt her. Poor, infatuated human."

Present Opal narrowed her eyes at her younger self.

"Don't be so dismissive of Fowl. He's clever, for a human, and he's bested me twice already. I won't let it happen again."

"Well, I won't let it happen _at all_." Past Opal leaned forward in her chair. "Now, tell me everything you know about Fowl. And Short. And tell me where it all went wrong."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Holly and Artemis were locked in their prison without contact from either of the Opals for more than an hour.

"They're probably catching up." Holly guessed correctly. "So she can best us all the second time around."

"You do know that that won't work, right? Those events have already happened, they can't be changed."

Holly rubbed her temples wearily.

"Don't start Artemis. Just attempting to think about it gives me a headache."

"Alright then, in simple terms. Those things happened to Opal after she went back to her own time. That they happened the way they did means that she must have been mind-wiped in this time."

"So?"

"So, Holly, that means that we win. We get out of here, and put the world to rights again. It means that we can find a way out of here."

"No, Artemis. It means that the LEP beat Opal. She could still kill us."

"That's what I love about you, Holly. You boundless optimism."

She snorted and began pacing the room. Artemis watched her for a few minutes, then walked over and put a hand on her shoulder.

"We _can_ get out of this, Holly. I _will_ think of a way."

She looked at him and smiled.

"I know. I trust you, Artemis."

He smiled back at her, guilt twisting his stomach. He didn't deserve her trust, but she gave it anyway. She had forgiven him for lying to her and manipulating her, for using her magic to achieve his own ends, and for kidnapping her. Why? No one deserved that many chances.

The Opals chose that moment to open the door. Both of them were holding guns. Guess where they were pointed.

Past Opal gestured at Artemis with her free hand.

"Out, Mudman. You're coming with me."

Artemis glanced at Holly, then walked out of their cell, Opal's gun pressed to his spine. Holly glared daggers at Present Opal, who was debating whether or not to shoot the elf in front of her.

"Are you not going with them?"

Opal shut the door with a bang.

"No, I'm not. I'm staying right here. You and I are going to have a little chat."

***********************************************************

Opal prodded Artemis down the corridor and into a disused science lab. Lying on a metal table in the middle of the room was a gleaming silver bio bomb. Artemis hesitated, and Opal, correctly interpreting why, huffed and slammed the door behind her.

"Don't worry, Fowl. It's not armed yet, and it won't go off if you touch it."

Artemis looked at the pixie, careful not to met her eyes - he had no wish to be mesmerized into submission.

"What do you want me to do? You could arm this yourself, you don't need me for that."

Opal scowled.

"We want you to alter its workings. Currently, it will kill all life in the set area. That is no good to us at all, not what we want."

Artemis wondered when she was going to come to the point.

"We want you to change it so that it only targets fairies."

**********************************************

Opal prowled around Holly in a circle. It was irritating as hell, but Holly refrained from turning with the pixie. No need to show her insecurities.

"What do you want, Opal?"

"Simple, my dear Captain. I want revenge. On Fowl, on Foaly, and on you. Everyone who took me down. Previously, I would have added Julius Root to that list, but I already got him, didn't I?"

Holly clenched her fists. Opal grinned at her.

"Don't worry, Captain. You'll be joining your late Commander very shortly. As soon as Fowl has finished changing the bio bomb for us."

Holly had never wanted to hurt someone as badly as she did right now. However, if she did swing for Opal, the pixie would shoot her. Instead, she injected as much venom into her tone as possible.

"Don't bet on it. You've tried to kill me and Artemis before, and it hasn't worked. Artemis is just too smart for you."

Opal reddened at her words and shot Holly in the leg. The Captain grunted in pain and fell to the floor. Opal leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"Artemis is altering that bomb right now. He's going to be responsible for the death of every fairy in Haven."

"What about you? No amount of magic can stand against a bio bomb. With none, you're just as dead as the rest of us." Holly spat. Hatred resonated in every syllable. Opal patted her condescendingly on the top of the head.

"It won't affect me, because I'll register as human."

"It won't kill humans?"

"I told you Fowl was changing it."

Opal stood and headed for the door. Holly yelled after her.

"What about your younger self? She's definitely a pixie."

"Yes, but she has the Eternity Stone. Goodbye, Captain."

Opal shut the cell door on Holly's astounded expression.

************************************************

Artemis spent the next few hours carefully taking the bomb apart. He didn't know how he was going to change its mechanics, a fact that he was loathe to admit even to himself. He didn't like not knowing things.

"Why do you need me to do this anyway? You're just as clever as I am, I'm sure you could figure it out."

"Shut up and get on with it, Mudman."

"Well, if not you then why not your older self?"

"She's… Turning into a human, combined with the after effects of the coma have left her a few IQ points down. She couldn't do it."

Artemis grinned. That was why she was so bitter - she hated to be outsmarted by a human.

"So why don't you do it? The technology too advanced for you?"

"I told you to shut up!" the pixie snapped. Artemis nodded to himself. Right again. He wondered if he'd ever get tired of always being right.

****************************************************

Foaly cantered back into the conference room waving a piece of paper.

"Well, it worked. We have a hit."

Everyone in the room looked at him. He sighed, muttering 'unappreciated' under his breath.

"I swabbed Fowl's DNA from the inside of the ring - not as easy as it sounds - and ran it through the scopes. I got a hit in E1 - only very briefly, it looks as though they were using the offshoot tunnels mostly."

Trouble interrupted before the centaur could get too immersed in his own genius.

"So what does this tell us? They could be anywhere - do you know how many tunnels come off E1?"

Foaly shook his head.

"This reading was taken two hours ago, halfway up E1. They're in Haven somewhere, Commander. It's the only place they could be, with that time window."

Troubles eyes lit up.

"We have a search area. Foaly, search for anywhere that Koboi might go - any residences, warehouses, anything. Past and present. And include anything registered to Cudgeon."

He strode to the doorway, yelling for all Retrieval Officers to get to his office _now_. Foaly sighed.

"Foaly do this, Foaly do that." he muttered, but left. If it could help bring his friends back… hold on a minute. Since when was Fowl _his_ friend?


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Artemis had been stalling for an hour before the solution came to him. He knew how to stop the Opals, how to get him and Holly out of there, and how to prevent the Opals from suspecting anything.

He hid a grin. Opal was still watching him like a hawk, and to look too happy would certainly give him away.

Opal, grumpy that he was taking so long, snapped at him.

"Hurry it up, Fowl! We only have so long before the LEP figure out where we are."

"I wasn't aware there was a deadline." he said innocently. He estimated that it would take the LEP maybe another four hours to figure out where they were and to get there. He could stall for four hours.

Opal pointed the gun at him.

"If there wasn't a deadline, then I'd do it myself. It'd take too long for me to figure out the workings of this mechanism, that's the only reason we need you alive. However, if it emerges that I could do it just as quickly, then you become dispensable. You don't want to be dispensable, Fowl."

Artemis turned back to the bio bomb, weary. He'd been awake now for roughly twenty-five hours (excluding the time he was sedated), and his body was crying out for sleep. Opal noticed and scowled. She wanted the bomb ready as soon as possible, but she also didn't want it to blow up in her face because the engineer had been dozing at the workbench. She compromised, telling Artemis to get to his feet and leading him back to the prison room.

"You have an hour, Fowl. Then it's back to work."

She slammed the door behind him. He sank onto the mattress next to Holly, who was looking at him, concerned.

"You look dead on your feet, Artemis."

"I'm alright. I need to tell you something."

"It can wait, Artemis. You need to get some rest."

"No, Holly, this is important…"

She touched his chin, turning his head so she was looking into his eyes, and spoke in a voice laced with the mesmer.

"Sleep, Artemis."

Artemis was too tired to fight it. His eyelids drooped and he went limp in her arms. She lowered him gently onto the bed, then, on impulse, kissed him on the forehead.

"Sweet dreams, Arty." she muttered.

*********************************************

Past Opal went back to the surveillance room, meeting her older self in there. Present Opal was asleep in the swivel chair, snoring lightly. She tiptoed past, and glanced at the camera in the prisoners room just in time to see Artemis slump in Holly's arms. She watched as the elf lay him on the bed, then kissed his forehead. There was no sound, but the picture was damning enough. She stared for a second, open mouthed, then woke her older self up. Beauty sleep be damned, she needed confirmation of what she'd just seen.

Present Opal awoke moodily, but annoyance turned to mild shock when she saw the footage. An evil grin split her face, and she stroked the screen,

"Oh, Captain. Not so perfect after all, are we? Naughty naughty, the LEP aren't going to like this. Not at all!"

She giggled, then told her younger self to copy the footage. If you were going to destroy someone, you may as well do it properly.

******************************************************

Foaly was working on compiling a list of all Koboi residences when the email came through. It was labelled 'Holly Short'. He ran a quick virus check, then opened it. It was a video clip showing Holly and Artemis. Foaly sighed in relief. They were still alive. He was about to call for the Commander when Artemis went limp. For a second Foaly panicked, but then he caught sight of Holly's expression and realised that she must have put him to sleep. _The boy looks like he needs it _Foaly thought. Then the video showed him something completely unorthodox. He paused it, decided that it wasn't enough, and shut the email down. It must be tampered with he decided. Holly wouldn't have kissed the Mud Boy, even just on the brow. She couldn't possibly have feelings for him…could she? There had been things that she hadn't told him about when she and Artemis were in the past - had something happened? He hadn't pushed the issue, but now maybe he would. No. Holly knew better than that - it was more of Koboi's trickery. It had to be.

***********************************************

Artemis had only been asleep for abut half an hour when Present Opal unlocked the prison door and stepped inside, smirking. Holly didn't like the expression.

"What?" she snapped. Opal just grinned wider.

"Oh, nothing. Just looking at an elf who has sunk to an all-time low."

"Either tell me what you mean or leave, Opal."

"You and the human. You're more than just friends, aren't you? I saw you kiss him. Extra-marital romance is one thing, but romance outside your species? Oh, Captain. Aren't there rules about consorting with Mudmen?"

She laughed, delighted at the stunned look on Holly's face, and skipped out of the room. Holly sank onto the bed. If this ever got out, she'd be kicked out of the LEP for sure. It was entirely innocent, of course, but Opal would blow it out of all proportion. Holly groaned. Just what she needed. More bad press.

*************************************************

Artemis awoke to see Holly sitting by his knees, head in hands. For a second, he couldn't think why he'd be lying on the bed but then he recalled Holly's eyes, the compulsion in her voice. He sat upright, annoyed.

"There was no need to do that, Holly."

She looked up.

"You're awake."

"Well observed." he snapped. He didn't like relinquishing control, even if it was for his own good. Holly sighed and shuffled over so he could put his feet on the floor.

"I'm not going to apologise, Artemis. You needed it, whether you admit it or not."

She sounded in a bad mood. At that point, Artemis didn't much care.

"You manipulated me!"

"Like you've never done that to me!" she retorted angrily. She had a point, even if it was made in anger. He held his hands up, cutting off the row before it could get too heated.

"Fine, let's just forget it. Like I was saying before you mesmerised me…"

Holly bit her tongue to keep from yelling. Displaced anger was no help to anyone, and Opal would just love to see the two of them fighting on the camera. She nodded at Artemis to continue.

"I have an idea. It's dangerous, but it should work. It relies on you, though. How fast can you run?"

She frowned.

"How fast do you need me to run?"

"As fast as possible."

He outlined his plan in undertones so the microphone couldn't pick up their voices and give away to the Opals what they were going to do. When he was done, Holly looked at him like he was crazy.

"Artemis. Are you suicidal? No one can run that fast."

"Then we'll have to dodge."

At that point, Past Opal entered the room.

"Alright, Mudman. Naptime's over. Come and finish the job."

Artemis looked at Holly, who was desperately trying to think of anything they could do that was less suicidal. Nothing came to mind. Reluctantly, she nodded. She'd go along with his plan.

Abruptly, she hugged him. Artemis was a little surprised, especially given that Opal was in the room, but put his arms around the elf's shoulders and hugged her back.

"Be careful, Arty." she muttered into his ear, then stepped back and let him walk out the room. The door slammed behind him, and Holly found herself praying that she would see him again.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Foaly set about the task of tracing Koboi's email without actually opening it again. Not particularly easy, but he didn't think he could stand any more of Opal's tricks. Or what he hoped were tricks.

The tract led back, via several satellites, to Koboi Labs. Foaly snorted. Too obvious. Way too easy. She couldn't be there.

Butler ducked his head into the Ops booth. He was carrying as much fairy weaponry as would fit onto the moon belt Foaly had loaned him, so couldn't fit through the door. He was going with the Retrieval team, as soon as Foaly told them where to go. Commander Kelp hadn't been too pleased about having a human with the squad, but Butler had insisted.

"Any locations yet, Foaly? We're getting a bit anxious out here."

Grub Kelp was hyperventilating, Trouble was wearing a track in the floor where he was pacing, and Butler had polished his Sig Sauer five times. The waiting was the worst bit. Once they got down to the action, they'd all be ok. Well, apart from Grub, who was panicking just thinking about taking on two Opal Koboi's.

"One. But it's too obvious."

"Where?"

"Koboi labs. But she wouldn't hide out there, it'd be the first place everyone would think of."

"And then discard, like you are. Sometimes, Foaly, the obvious answer is the right one."

Butler strode over to Trouble, who was trying not to picture the various predicaments Holly and Artemis could be in right then.

"Commander? We have a possible location."

"Where?"

Butler told him. Trouble frowned.

"Why would she be there?"

"The best place to hide is in plain sight, Commander. If everyone is so convinced that they have to look in every nook and cranny, sometimes they forget to look in the obvious places."

"Making the obvious place the best place to hide." Trouble nodded. He turned to the Retrieval squad and yelled, in a voice reminiscent of Root.

"All of you, up and ready to go now! We have lives to save!"

******************************************************

Artemis put the bio bomb back together carefully. He had made a few minute alterations to the circuitry, with Past Opal glaring over his shoulder, and now he just had to hope that it worked.

"Done." he said, neutrally. Opal elbowed him to one side and stared down at the silver sphere on the table.

"Good. Well done, Mudman. Now, you have the pleasure of testing it for us."

"T…testing it?" This was what Artemis had been hoping for, but no need to let the Opals know that.

"Yes. You think we would just trust you? Oh, no. So, we test it. If it works, then you go free. If it doesn't then…well, you'll die just like the rest of them."

Opal was tinkering with the bomb as she was talking, setting the blast radius. No need to kill herself if Artemis _had_ tried to trick them.

"What about you? What's going to protect you from the blast? Your elder self will register as human, I've already figured that out…"

Opal smirked at him.

"I have the Eternity Stone."

"The what?" asked Artemis, nonplussed. He'd never heard of an Eternity Stone. Opal pulled a silver chain from around her neck to expose the small blue pendant attached to it. It looked like a sapphire, only ten times brighter.

"This is the Eternity Stone. It protects the wearer from damage, even from a bio bomb. The blast won't touch me."

She tucked the Stone away inside her top and pulled a communicator from her pocket.

"Opal? Yes. Get the subject to the test area. I'll bring the Mudman."

********************************************************

Holly was pacing the cell, frustrated. Artemis's plan was suicide, but it was also the only thing she could think of that might actually work. The only way to stop the Opals from destroying Haven.

She sighed. Vindictive little pixies. Couldn't they give it a rest? Did they really have to rule the world?

The door opened the reveal Present Opal. Holly snarled at her. Opal just grinned and pointed the remote in her hand at Holly. For a second nothing happened. Then, Holly felt the seeker-sleeper in her arm heat up. Sedative flooded her system, and she stumbled into the wall. Opal laughed delightedly.

"Come on, Captain. We're going to take a little walk."

The pixie gripped Holly's upper arm and dragged her out of the cell. She didn't try to resist, it was all she could do to stay awake and on her feet. She shuffled up the corridor after Opal, desperately clinging to consciousness. If she succumbed, Artemis's plan was ruined. And so were their chances of getting out of this mess alive.

Opal threw her into another room and slammed the door, giggling as Holly fell to her knees. She raised her head blearily, and saw the silver bomb in front of her.

_I was right _she thought. _We're going to die_.

***************************************************************

Artemis, stood in the room next to the bomb, saw Opal throw Holly in through the one way mirror in the wall. When he'd asked why there was a one-way mirror, Opal had told him to shut up and watch. From the fact that the bio bomb appeared to be in some form of factory room, he guessed that Opal hadn't trusted her own employees, so had this room to watch them packaging her precious inventions.

Holly fell to her knees, and Artemis clenched his fist. They'd activated the seeker-sleeper. This was very, very bad.

Present Opal walked into the room smirking and pressed a button on her remote. Holly shook her head and straightened. They wanted her awake, Artemis realised. They wanted to see her panic, her hopelessness just before she died. Just before the bio bomb ripped the life from her body. Which it wouldn't, of course. In theory.

Past Opal handed him a small silver control.

"If you'd do the honours."

Artemis was shaking with anger. They wanted him to detonate the bomb.

Present Opal picked up a Neutrino from the work surface and pointed it at Artemis's head.

"Do it, Mud Boy."

Artemis took the control, but hesitated, thumb suspended over the button. What if he'd gone wrong? What if the bomb didn't do what it should? Would he be responsible for Holly's death? Again?

Past Opal got tired of his hesitation and slapped his thumb onto the button. There was a flash of light and the bomb exploded.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Trouble Kelp was parading about in front of Koboi labs, yelling at Foaly through his helmet intercom.

"Foaly! Are you sure this is the right place? It looks deserted."

"No, Commander, I'm not sure. I did tell you that, several times."

"Well, how many other places have you come up with?"

"Ummm.."

Trouble bellowed into the microphone, nearly blowing the speakers in the Ops booth.

"Now you can't even make a list? What are we paying you for? Remind me to dock your budget when I get back."

Foaly winced. Grub nudged the officer next to him.

"I think Trubs is channelling Root."

Unfortunately, the helmet intercom was still on, and his older brother heard Grub's comment. He opened his mouth to yell, but was interrupted by the factory building of the lab behind him exploding. Foaly was the first to break the silence.

"Well, now I'm sure."

"Shut it, centaur. Right, what we're going to do is…Butler? Where are you going?"

The giant manservant had been making for the building. He paused to answer the Commander's question.

"Artemis is in there. And Holly. We have to get them out."

Just then, more of the building fell inwards. Trouble shook his head sadly.

"I'm sorry, Butler, but no one is going in there until I know it's safe. I'm not losing more officers."

Butler drew himself up to his full height. Grub whimpered.

"I'm going in there, Commander. I'm not your officer, you can't stop me."

And with that he ran towards the still collapsing building. Trouble stared after him, then thought _the hell with it_.

"Split up." he barked. "Go in pairs. Report in every sixty seconds. No one is to be unaccompanied, is that clear? I'll go with Butler."

Retrieval paired off and made their way towards the lab. Finally, just Grub was left partner less. Trouble nodded at him.

"You call the paramedics and wait here for them. Ok?"

Grub nodded. Finally, a job he could actually do. Trouble turned and ran into the lab after Butler.

*********************************************************

The bomb detonated, and Holly threw herself to the floor under a table. If the bomb worked the way Artemis said it would, she was going to need the protection.

She felt the wave of energy coming towards her and closed her eyes. The light hit her, but didn't affect her, just swept over her prone form. She straightened. It had worked!

Above her, the table creaked and collapsed. She moved, but not quick enough. It landed on her left leg, pinning her to the ground.

That was when the ceiling began to cave in.

******************************************************

Artemis watched Holly roll under the table, saw the light pass over her, and for an instant his heart stopped. She wasn't moving! Had he gone wrong? Then she lifted her head, and he sighed in relief. The Opals, standing on either side of him, were furious.

"What have you done?" they screamed in unison. Artemis smiled his vampire smile.

"I changed the bomb. It only targets non-living things."

In the factory room, the table Holly was under collapsed.

"But that means the whole factory is going to cave in on us!"

"I suggest," smirked Artemis "that you run."

The Opals looked at each other, then turned and ran for the door. Artemis ducked as the mirror smashed, sheltering his head with his arms. When he was more or less certain that no more glass was going to come flying at him, he stood up and peered into the other room. Holly was trapped under the table, and the ceiling above her was caving inwards. He vaulted through the space once occupied by the mirror and heaved at the table pinning her leg to the floor. He pulled, she pushed and the table shifted just enough for Holly to crawl out from under it. Her leg was broken in at least two places, but the magic would sort her out soon enough. For now, they had to focus on staying alive.

The major problem with Artemis's plan was that they were in the cellar of the building. Even with the blast radius being contained, all the floors above them were going to come tumbling down, burying them in rubble. They had to move, and fast.

Artemis grabbed Holly under the arms and dragged her over to the decimated doorway. They cleared the room just in time, the ceiling caving in where they'd been moments before. He propped her against a wall to heal herself. Her entire leg was glowing blue, and her teeth were gritted in pain, but after a few seconds the sparks stopped and she stumbled to his side.

"Thank you." She yelled over the sound of the building caving in around them. "Now shall we leave?"

She didn't wait for him to answer, grabbing his arm and dragging him down the collapsing corridor with her.

**********************************************************

Butler and Trouble headed directly for the centre of the explosion. They ran haphazardly down the disintegrating corridors, dodging as bits of ceiling rained down. After countless dead ends, even Trouble had to admit they were lost. He led Butler back the way he thought they'd come, and ran straight into Holly, knocking her to the floor.

Butler picked them both up and set them down on their feet. Trouble grinned widely.

"Holly! You're Ok!"

"Not for much longer if we don't move!" hollered Artemis. Trouble shook himself.

"Right. Lets go!"

The four of them took off in the direction Holly and Artemis had been going. In the five minutes it took them to escape the clutches of the collapsing building, each of them received numerous cuts and bruises from the flying rubble, and Artemis got hit on the arm by a large chunk of concrete. He grunted as he felt the bone snap, falling into Butler's arms. The manservant picked the boy up and carried him the final dash to safety.

Once outside, both Holly and Trouble set about the task of healing all the groups various wounds. Holly laid her hand on Artemis's arm, breathed 'heal', and watched as the bone knitted itself back together. His main injury taken care of, she hugged him, speaking into his ear.

"Well done, Artemis."

He hugged her back tightly, then whispered to her.

"And you. Thank you, Holly."

She pulled back to look at his face. There was a cut on his cheek, so she ran her finger down it and the mark disappeared. His breath caught.

"What for?"

"For trusting me." he managed to choke out. She smiled. Trouble tapped her on the shoulder, she turned, and Artemis became aware of the fairies surrounding the two of them. Retrieval had all emerged from the building with only minor injuries, and one pair had even managed to capture Present Opal. She was cuffed and in the back of an LEP van before the dust had finished settling on her recently destroyed lab.

Artemis looked around. Where was the other Opal? Had she made it out? His questions were answered when he saw her emerge from the rubble, only mildly injured. She was shaking in fury. Artemis saw her bend down, pick up a handgun - one of Butler's by the look of it, he must have lost it in all the confusion - and aim straight for him. She smiled at him mockingly and pulled the trigger.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Trouble tapped Holly on the shoulder and hugged her tightly as she turned towards him.

"Are you alright?" he asked her. She nodded, smiling.

"You?"

"Well, now I know why Root yelled so much." He smiled at her gently. "He worried."

Holly couldn't met his eyes. She broke free of his embrace and stepped backwards.

********************************************

Opal wasn't known for her marksmanship. The shot that she'd aimed for Artemis went wide, and she dropped the gun as several LEP officers ran towards her. It wasn't long before they caught her. She tried to hex two of the officers, missed (mainly because she was still shaking from shock and anger), and got buzzed several times by various officers wielding buzz batons. They cuffed her, and began dragging her back towards the LEP vehicles, only to stop dead in their tracks.

"No" whispered one of the team, eyes wide. Opal's shot had found a target, after all.

*************************************************

At first, no one noticed. Most of the Retrieval team took off after Opal, leaving Holly standing with Butler, Artemis, Trouble and Grub. Grub was looking towards the road, waiting for the paramedics, Trouble was talking to Butler, and Artemis was watching Opal attempt to hex the officers. He turned around to see Holly clutching her stomach. Red trickled out from between her fingers, and her eyes widened in pain.

"Holly!" he shouted. Butler and Trouble turned just in time to see Captain Short fall to her knees, Artemis beside her. She coughed, and blood spattered the front of her uniform.

Trouble ran to her side as she huddled over, vomiting more blood onto the wreckage of the labs.

"Heal it!" he yelled, frantic. It was Artemis who replied.

"She can't, she used the last of her magic to heal my arm."

His voice came out almost normal, despite the tears trickling down his face. His best friend was dying before his eyes, again, and he could do nothing to prevent it.

Trouble gently turned her so that she was lying on her back. She whimpered. It was all she could manage. He laid his hands over her wound, but his magic was more or less gone, too. She squirmed, making pained noises. Trouble and Artemis leaned over her, holding her still until the tremors stopped. She lay panting, eyelids flickering. Trouble shouted over his shoulder.

"Where is the D'Arvited ambulance?"

Grub, shaking all over, pulled out his phone and tried to contact the paramedics.

Artemis was talking to Holly, trying to keep her awake.

"Come on Holly, talk to me. You didn't come through all this just to give up at the end, now, did you? Talk to me, Holly!"

She muttered something. He had to lean close to hear what it was.

"Sorry, Arty."

"What for?"

"Mesmerizing you." She coughed. Artemis blinked to prevent more tears from spilling.

"It's ok. You did the right thing."

She made a noise somewhere between a whimper and a chuckle. Trouble put his hand under her cheek.

"Come on, Holly. Stay with me."

She blinked, trying to get him in focus.

"You're a great Commander, Trouble. Julius would be proud."

Trouble couldn't speak. He just nodded and squeezed her hand tightly. Her eyes closed, and she went limp. Artemis gave up the fight and wept openly. Trouble shook her. Her head lolled from side to side. He yelled at Grub, in a voice that broke several times.

"Where are the paramedics?"

"Stuck in traffic, Trubs. They say they're going to be at least another five minutes."

Butler put his hand on Artemis's shoulder, speaking gently to the sobbing boy.

"Maybe they can bring her back, like she did me."

Artemis shook his head. The time between the heart stopping and brain damage was four minutes. And this time, there were no handy freezers to prevent it. They were going to be a minute too late. Holly was gone.

Artemis glared through his tears at Opal. This was all her fault. Her and her stupid bio bomb…

Suddenly, it came to Artemis. Maybe there was a way to save Holly. It was improbably, certainly, but he didn't care. It might work, and that was all that mattered.

He forced himself to his feet and ran towards Opal as fast as he could. Every second counted. For a second, the officers considered stopping him - he looked like he might attack her. Then they remembered that the pixie had just killed a much respected colleague, and decided that she deserved everything that was coming to her.

Artemis pulled the Eternity Stone from Opals throat and ran back to Holly's side. He placed it on her chest, muttering 'please' under his breath. Trouble was too much in shock to really wonder what he was doing, but he decided to trust him. Artemis's plans usually worked. Usually.

********************************************

Holly lay still, enjoying the floating sensation. All the pain in her stomach was gone, and she felt as though she could lie here, like this, forever…

"Holly."

She opened her eyes. Looking down at her was Commander Root. He smiled, more gentle than she had ever seen him, and offered her his hand. She took it, and he hauled her to her feet. She looked around. They were standing in the middle of the Commander's office at Police Plaza.

"Julius? But you…"

He nodded, looking at her with sorrow in his eyes. Her own widened as she understood.

"I'm…"

Julius walked away from her, stroking the desk with his fingertips.

"I had planned on you taking the Commandership at some point. Maybe in a couple of centuries. You were one of the best officers I ever knew, Holly."

He looked up at her, smiled sadly, and faded away. She reached out for him, but the entire office vanished, only to be replaced by a very familiar looking living room. Holly whirled. Sitting on the settee were her parents. They smiled at her, and she threw herself into their embrace. They pulled back, tears glistening in their eyes. Her mother stroked her cheek gently.

"You get more beautiful every day." she murmured. Holly smiled. Her father cleared his throat, and she looked at him. He shook his head sadly.

"It's not your time, Holly. You joined us too soon."

She frowned.

"But, I want to be with you!"

He kissed her cheek tenderly. He was fading, just like Root had. She reached out, but her hand went straight through him. He smiled faintly.

"We love you, honey."

The world turned white.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Artemis squeezed Holly's hand tightly, muttering under his breath.

"Please, please, please."

Butler laid his hand on the boys shoulder, tears trickling from his own eyes. The captain had saved both Artemis's and his own lives more times than he cared to think about. Over the past seven years, she had moved from quarry, to unwilling ally, to friend. He hoped Artemis could save her.

The Eternity stone sat on her chest, inactive, for several seconds. Trouble gave up hope and turned away, covering his eyes. Artemis ducked his head, struggling to breathe. Holly couldn't be gone. She just couldn't.

He looked up, wanting to imprint her face in his memory, and gasped. The Stone was glowing vivid blue. The glow shifted to cover Holly's frame, and her hand twitched in his. He clutched it tighter, whispering her name under his breath. Her body spasmed again, and the Stone slipped from her chest. The bomb damage had cracked it across, and further trauma broke it completely. It hit the floor, and broke into shards. The blue glow around Holly faded and died.

Artemis dropped her hand. It hadn't worked. He closed his eyes, trying not to feel his heart breaking. He had lost her.

He ignored Butler shaking his shoulder for a few seconds, only replying when he lost the feeling in his arm.

"What?" he asked tonelessly.

"She's breathing, Artemis. Holly's alive."

He opened his eyes. The movement was miniscule, but her chest was definitely rising and falling. She was alive!

Trouble jumped to his feet, yelling for the Retrieval squad to clear a space for the paramedics. Artemis hadn't noticed the officers surrounding them. Seven medical warlocks pushed everyone out of their way and knelt in a circle around the fallen captain. Artemis stood up, trying to see what they were doing, but his view of Holly was completely obstructed.

For ten minutes, Holly was surrounded by paramedics, shooting magic into various body parts. The hardest part was removing the bullet. One of the warlocks had to make a new incision to reach in and remove it. Finally, they stepped back and cleared an area around her. Artemis knew what was coming. He'd seen it twice before, and been through it himself a few months previously after being attacked by a gorilla. Holly, shrouded in blue sparks, shook and flailed about, nonsense words in various languages spilling from her mouth. After a minute or so of this, she flopped limply back to the rubble. Trouble was the first at her side, pushing her hair - which had grown about two inches - out of her eyes.

"Holly. Holly, can you hear me?"

She groaned and winced.

"Ouch." she muttered. There was something pointy digging into her back. She opened her eyes, and sat up. Trouble pulled her into a tight embrace, and she hugged him back, not certain what was going on. The last thing she remembered was a pain in her stomach…

Trouble was whispering into her ear.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again, Holly, do you hear me?"

Scare him? She pulled back and touched her stomach. Her hand came away sticky with blood. Her blood. She had a sudden vision of Julius and her parents, and her eyes widened. Trouble put his hand in her bloodstained one, hiding it's shaking from the cheering Retrieval team. He looked directly into her mismatched eyes, saw the comprehension there, and squeezed her hand gently.

"It's ok now, Holly. You're safe."

***********************************************

Artemis watched as Trouble embraced Holly, and she hugged him back. He wanted to go to her side, to join in the celebratory hand-slapping the LEP officers were doing, but his legs wouldn't move. Butler spoke from his left side, the smile on his face evident in his tone.

"You did it Artemis."

Artemis watched as Trouble helped Holly to her feet, steadying her with a hand on her waist. The scene upset him for some reason. He shook himself mentally, trying to think with his head rather than his emotions. Holly was alive, wasn't she? What more did he want?

**************************************************

Holly was surrounded by her fellow officers. They all attempted to hug her or pat her on the back, all tried to make eye contact. She smiled thinly. Had she really died, or had she hallucinated that she saw Julius and her parents? She asked the nearest person to her, who happened to be Grub, what had happened..

"Artemis did something. With a necklace Opal was wearing."

She looked up at Artemis, met his eyes and smiled.

'Thank you' she mouthed. He nodded back. His eyes were red, and his face was tearstained. He'd cried for her? She fought her way free of the crowd around her and made her way to his side. They stood smiling at each other for a moment, then as one they threw their arms around each other.

"The Eternity Stone?" she asked incredulously. He nodded, eyes closed. She felt the motion and hugged him tighter.

"Thank you, Artemis. That's the second time you've brought me back."

He smiled into her hair.

"Let's not try for a third, eh?"

She laughed and pulled back. For a few seconds, they just stared at each other, then Artemis bent down and kissed her on the cheek. A few members of Retrieval wolf whistled. Butler cracked his knuckles and the suddenly decided that they had better places to be. Artemis ignored the whistling.

"I'm glad you're alright, Holly."

She grinned at him and punched him on the arm.

"Can't keep me down."

********************************************

Trouble watched the interaction up to the point where the Mud Boy kissed Holly, then turned to his team and started to clear them out of there.

"Come on, we've got a mind wipe to do, we've got to find Number One and get him to sent Opal back to her proper time, and we've got to put our Opal back in prison! Let's move, team!"

The two vans with the Opals in went first, followed by the paramedics and the rest of the Retrieval team. Finally only he was left. He turned to face Holly, who was assuring Butler that , yes, she really was fine. He cleared his throat and she turned to look at him. Gods, he loved that smile.

"Thank you for your help, Artemis. And you, Butler."

The two humans nodded.

"We should probably get you home, before anything else happens. I'd take you myself, but I've got to call the Council and explain this to them…"

"I'll take them, Commander." volunteered Holly. "I've got to pick up my helmet from the Manor anyway."

Trouble nodded reluctantly. He didn't like how close Holly and Artemis were, but he saw little alternative. What he'd been about to suggest was that he could ask Captain Vein to take them.

"Are you sure you're up to it?"

"I'm fine Commander. I could fly that shuttle blind."

Butler sincerely hoped that she wouldn't. There were enough near misses with walls when she could see, though in fairness that was mostly because he'd only ever flown with her in high-speed chases. That and the fact that she had a liking for acrobatics. As she said, what was the point in flying slowly?


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

They stopped off at Police Plaza so that Holly could change out of her torn and bloodstained uniform. She disappeared into the building for several minutes, reappearing wearing a short sleeved t-shirt and a pair of low-cut black trousers. She climbed back into the shuttle, irate, and threw a pair of wings onto a spare seat. Trouble started the engine ant they set off again.

"It was all I had in my locker" she grunted at Artemis. The boy hurriedly closed his mouth. The pink scar on her stomach was evident in that outfit, but that wasn't why he'd been staring. He'd never seen her wearing anything other than her LEP uniform or that suit she'd found in the wardrobe when they'd time travelled. He'd tried very hard not to look at her in her one-piece. She obviously wasn't wearing a one-piece now, as there was a strip of flesh visible in the gap between her top and trousers. That had been what he'd been gaping at - he'd never seen her in anything so, well, feminine.

"What are you staring at, Artemis?" she asked him. His gaze was well below her face, and she was tired of getting this reaction. Just because she generally wore stuff that covered her figure, didn't mean that all the males in the vicinity had to stare when she wore something the slightest bit revealing. Artemis blinked and transferred his gaze to the shuttle port they were now arriving at.

"Nothing. Your scar is showing."

She looked down, so missed Butler's smirk.

************************************************

They arrived back at Fowl Manor at half past six in the evening. It was just getting dark, and the sun cast red and gold patterns onto the clouds. Holly stepped out of the Bentley, smiling at nature's display. Artemis walked around the car to her side.

"Holly? Are you coming inside?"

"In a minute." she replied, her eyes not leaving the sunset. Butler led Artemis back into the Manor, then went directly to his room. He'd been awake for far too long, and though he could ignore sleep deprivation he preferred not to have to. Artemis went into his study, grimaced at the broken glass on the floor, and picked Holly's helmet up from the floor. A voice from behind him nearly made him drop it again in shock.

"Hey, nice one, Fowl. The People owe you one."

Artemis turned to face the grinning centaur with as much dignity as he could muster. Foaly manipulated the webcam perched on top of the computer to look around the room. He winced at the glass on the carpet.

Artemis put the helmet down on the desk and smiled at the screen.

"The People owe me nothing. It was my fault that Opal escaped in the first place."

"Artemis admitting he's at fault? D'Arvit, why aren't I recording this?"

Foaly chuckled, then continued.

"That's not what I meant, though. I meant saving Holly."

"Oh. No problem."

He thought about Holly's response months earlier after saving his life when he'd been mauled by a gorilla.

'Of course I saved you. I couldn't do without you.'

He sighed. Damn hormones to hell.

Foaly couldn't quite figure out why the boy looked so confused, but decided that it didn't matter. He reached out to terminate the contact, but stopped what Artemis spoke.

"How come Holly woke up so quickly? It took Butler about a week to come to."

"Firstly, Holly's a fairy. We have a higher level of reaction to magic than humans do. Also, she had a full team of warlocks working on her. Butler just had one untrained - though skilled - elf."

"Her hair still grew, though." The boy sounded worried.

"Side effect of the healing. All major healings use a little of the host's energy - for mortal wounds, a little of their life force. By the looks of it, Holly's lost about two months or so. It shouldn't really affect her."

The look of relief on Artemis's face was completely out of character. Then again, so was him kissing Holly on the cheek (Foaly had watched the whole episode through Trouble's helmet camera). He did a lot of odd things - for him, at least - in Holly's presence.

Trouble barged into view behind the centaur, yelling at him to get the equipment for a mind wipe ready. Foaly winced and muttered a farewell to Artemis. The screen went blank just as Holly entered the house. Foaly heard her voice as the connection closed. _Arty_?

********************************************

"Arty?" Holly called up the stairs.

"In the study." he called back. She walked up and went in to see him leaning against the desk. She picked her helmet up from the counter and tucked it under one arm.

"Well, I'd better get going. Reports to write."

"You're going back to work?" Artemis asked incredulously. She nodded. He shook his head.

"Holly, you've just been seriously injured. Surely, they can cope without you for a few days."

She sighed.

"You sound like Trouble."

She ran a hand through her hair, grimacing at the extra length.

"Besides, I need to get a haircut."

"I like it." Artemis said without thinking. It had a slight kink to it, sticking out a little from her head. Holly dropped her hand and a hunk of it fell in front of her eyes. He smiled and brushed it out of the way, only realising after how close to her this movement put him. He looked into her eyes from centimetres away. She frowned.

"Artemis? Are you ok? You look funny."

He nodded, still looking into her mismatched eyes. It no longer felt odd to have his own eye looking back at him, it was just part of Holly.

"I'm fine."

His hand was still on her cheek, but neither of them made to move it. He took another step towards her, and she dropped the helmet. Neither of them noticed. He hesitated for a moment, then bent down quickly, before he could lose his nerve, and kissed her. He'd been aiming for her cheek, but somehow found her lips instead. For a moment she didn't react, and Artemis tensed for the punch that he was sure would come. She raised her hand and pulled him closer, eyes closing as she kissed him back. She raised herself onto tiptoe and out her arms around his neck. He twined one hand in her hair, the other found a home on her waist. They parted for a second, and he whispered into her mouth.

"I love you, Holly."

It was a lot easier to say than he'd thought it would be. She smiled, and muttered back.

"Love you."

For the time being, she neither recalled nor cared that it was forbidden, just enjoyed the moment. And she was totally happy.


End file.
